


Another Heartbreak

by opal_sapphire



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Blood, Blood and Gore, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22486657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opal_sapphire/pseuds/opal_sapphire
Summary: Merle took Michonne.  You and Daryl go after them.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/You
Kudos: 14





	Another Heartbreak

Your chest was heavy and tight, and your stomach was light, like you'd gone too long without eating. It had been like that since Rick talked with the Governor. You knew this wasn't gonna end well.

And when Merle and Michonne disappeared? You looked at Daryl, and Daryl looked at you, and you were already headed for the gates, gun and knife in hand. No way in hell were you letting him go after them alone.

Neither of you spoke. You stayed quiet, listening, watching. The silence made you equal parts relieved and, somehow, more nervous.

Daryl broke it. "You know about the deal?"

You knew he already knew the answer. You responded anyway. "Yeah."

"How'd you find out?"

"I see and hear more than y'all would believe."

It was true. You were quiet, always had been. Staying in the corner, lingering in doorways, watching and listening as if you were waiting for something. Daryl was the only one you really talked to. Even Carol couldn't really get you to come out of your shell, though she tried.

"You didn't see or hear him take her."

You blanched, stayed silent, and Daryl knew he'd gone too far. But he didn't say anything else. You walked a little faster.

In your defense, you'd been a bit busy feeding Judith. Daryl knew it; he was the one who mixed the formula. It didn't make you feel any better.

He knew you didn't like Merle. You didn't feel as strongly towards him as the others did. You'd never met him before they both came back to the prison. But you resented Merle for what he did to Glenn and Maggie, and for taking Daryl away, even if he did come back in the end.

"Sorry," Daryl mumbled.

"'S fine," you mumbled back.

When you found Michonne, alone, taking out walkers in a little town, some of the guilt lifted from your chest.

"Get her back to the prison," Daryl ordered you, jogging off.

You raised an eyebrow, then glanced at Michonne. The look in her eyes sent dread pooling in your stomach. "Go with him. He's gonna need you."

You went after him without a second thought. Michonne could look after herself.

It didn't take you long to catch up to Daryl. This time neither of you said anything. The place where Rick and the Governor had talked was crawling with walkers. Luckily for you, almost all of them were busy with fresh bodies.

You busied yourself with taking some of them out, keeping an eye out for other people while giving Daryl space to look for his brother. You already had a bad feeling about this.

When you heard Daryl's cry, you knew you'd been right. When you found him, he was standing in front of Merle. Merle had been turned. The blood staining the front of his shirt could've been from a body or the gunshot wound in his chest. Or both.

You didn't know what to do. Daryl simply stood there, staring at his brother. Your gut instinct was to take your knife and stab it through the walker's--Merle's--head, but you didn't know if you should.

Merle stumbled toward Daryl, and Daryl just pushed him back once, then twice. He tackled him, his own knife in hand, and stabbed him in the head over and over. You covered your mouth.

Daryl fell backwards off Merle's body. You snapped out of whatever had been keeping you frozen in place, and you knelt next to him as he sat up, breathing heavy. You put your hand on his shoulder. He turned to you and wrapped his arms around you, burying his face in your chest. You wrapped your arms around him and threaded your fingers through his hair as he cried. The sound broke your heart.


End file.
